Oct. 7, 2007

2007 New England Championship Results

BOSTON, Mass. (October 6, 2007) - The Sacred Heart men's and women's cross country turned in strong finishes at the New England Championships at Franklin Park in Boston, Massachusetts. The Pioneer men came home with their best-ever finish in 26th while the women took 13th and had a pair of runners garner All-New England honors in the process.

SHU freshman Dana Troy (Lebanon, CT) and Kimberly DeLoreto (Hillsdale, NJ) became the first-ever SHU duo to garner All-New England honors in the same year while also marking the first time in school history that freshmen earned the award. The duo was the top-two freshman runners in a race that featured 44 teams and 299 runners that crossed the finish line.

"To have the two best freshmen in a field of this quality and depth is unbelievable," stated head coach Christian Morrison. "Dana and Kim are performing like veterans every time they race ."

Troy came home in 14th place, running the course in 18:42. DeLoreto crossed the finish line in 22nd place, clocking in at 18:56. The two runners become the fourth and fifth runners in SHU history to earn the All-NE honor. Only Katie Wrinkle (12th in 2003), Katie Duffy (30th in 2005), and Kathleen Henry (20th in 2006) have earned All-New England honors previously.

Sophomore Sarah Tencza (Succasunna, NJ) had a breakout race to place 43rd overall. She ran a one-second personal best, despite the hot and humid conditions, and made a huge improvement from 150th place last year. Tencza was key to the Pioneer's 13th place team finish, their second-best finish all-time. SHU came into the meet unranked in the New England Coaches Top-25 poll and walked away sending a message throughout the region with their 13th place finish.

"Sarah had the race of a lifetime. No one could've predicted a top-50 finish for her in this meet."

The men recorded their best team finish (26th) ever in the meet with their previous best (31st ) coming in 2003. Sophomore Luis German (Southampton, NY) ran an excellent race, recording the highest place finish (64th) at the New England meet in program history. The previous best was 69th by Matthew Uzenski in 2003.

"The men have had better races this season, but this was still a solid performance. We're really looking forward to the NEC Championships now."

Despite the hot, humid conditions, German ran a 34-second personal best. His time (26:27) moved him to number three on SHU's all-time performance list for cross country.

"Luis has had a lot of success on the track, and now he's beginning to emerge as a cross country runner too. His best performances are still to come."